Knocking on the Liu family's door, Ye Jiu shouted, "Is Liu Yuanshuang here? I've come to apologize to her! Let me see her quickly."
Ye Jiu urged impatiently, "They've already apologized to me, what more do you want?"
The servant inside hesitated, unsure of what to do. Liu Yuanshuang stood in the courtyard with her arms crossed, shaking her head to prevent the servant from opening the door.
"Don't give her a break. Let her cool off. She got all smug after the master praised her a few times. She stole lines from somewhere to write a couplet and even dared to brag after winning. Pah! She still obediently came to apologize."
"She's always wasting her time and fooling around with other people. Everyone knows she's a scoundrel. So what if she knows a little martial arts!"
"That's really impressive, oh dear." Ye Jiu had somehow climbed onto the roof of the Liu family's house and stuck her tongue out at Liu Yuanshuang.
"If I didn't know kung fu, you would have really been left hanging, but unfortunately, I know how to climb over walls."
Ye Jiu stood up and lightly jumped off the roof.
Liu Yuanshuang's face darkened instantly, and she turned and walked into the house.
"Hey, don't rush off! Let me apologize! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! It won't happen again!"
Liu Yuanshuang didn't stop walking. "I don't accept it! Get out."
"It's up to you whether you accept it or not, I've apologized anyway." Ye Jiu turned and left. Who cared about her answer? Anyway, her teacher's wife hadn't said that Liu Yuanshuang had to forgive her.
Ye Jiu couldn't help but wonder, "What kind of good man would want a woman who's so petty?"
In this era, men could get married at the age of 16, and women at the age of 20. However, although it was said that women were married at 20, there were many who got married and started families at 15 or 16. It was rare to find someone like Liu Yuanshuang who was still single at 15. Her father, who lived next door to her, could hear her urging her to get married every day.
Everyone says it's because she focused on preparing for the provincial examination, but there are plenty of women who married before passing the county-level examination. Why is it that she's the only one who can't? It's unfair to blame the world for someone who can't do it.
Thinking of this, Ye Jiu's face showed horror. Would she also have to get married at 15 or 16? Forget it, don't laugh at Liu Yuanshuang; she might be the next one to be laughed at.
Ye Jiu shook her head to dismiss these random thoughts. Whatever, she had apologized. Whether she accepted it or not was up to her. There were still less than two months until the provincial examination. She wished her good luck.
Ye Jiu quickened her pace toward Shangshifang to buy candied fruit for Yun Jia and some wine for her teacher's wife. She thought she would appease her teacher's wife and that her teacher's wife would definitely help her fob off Liu Jia's husband.
The shop assistant at Shangshifang smiled as soon as he saw Ye Jiu, "You're here to buy snacks again? What kind would you like?"
Because of Ye Jiu's visits, everyone here has become a regular customer; all three employees and the owner know her.
"I'm not buying snacks today, I'm buying some candied fruit instead."
"Candied fruit, how much do you want this time?" The waiter quickly took out some oil paper, waiting for Ye Jiu to speak.
"100 Wen."
Ye Jiu counted out the coins and placed them on the table, waiting for her to weigh them and wrap them up. The shop assistants were all experienced; they grabbed the coins accurately in just a couple of handfuls, wrapped them up, and handed them to her, saying, "Come again soon."
Ye Jiu tucked the candied fruit into his pocket and walked into the wine shop next door, the one Yao Yishui often drank from. Ye Jiu waved his hand and said, "I want a pound."
The shop owner beamed with delight, filled a container with the contents, and sealed it tightly. "Take care!"
Ye Jiu, carrying candied fruit and wine, hummed a little tune as she went home, thoroughly enjoying herself.
As they entered, they encountered Xu Yinzhu, the second son of the Xu family next door. He was about the same age as Ye Jiu, but he was obsessed with money and would agree to anything. He would turn hostile on the spot when money was mentioned.
She waved enthusiastically to Ye Jiu, who turned a corner and walked over to her. "What's wrong? Is something the matter?"
Xu Yinzhu took a deep breath and said, "Sister, I know you're the one among us who's the most financially well-off."
Ye Jiu immediately took two steps back, looking at her warily. "What? You want to borrow money?"
Xu Yinzhu shook her head and then nodded, "Yes and no. My older sister opened a jewelry shop. She's taken over the shop, and she's had it renovated. Everything's settled, but now she needs to buy more stock and she's found that she doesn't have enough money."
“My family doesn’t support her. They think she’s wasting money. But I’ve seen it, and I think my sister’s shop location and the goods she’s interested in are good. She’ll definitely make a fortune in the city.”
“I’ve put all my money in, and it’s still a bit short. I thought you were the most well-off among us, so would you be willing to invest some money? Once we make a profit, we’ll share a percentage of the profits with you.”
"Hiss," Ye Jiu rubbed her chin. If Xu Yinzhu said it was good, then it must be good. She'd never lost money in her small businesses, but this funding gap...
Xu Yinzhu has poured all her savings into this project, and it still hasn't been filled. How huge is that deficit...?
How much more is needed?
"30 taels."
"Oh my, that's no small amount." Ye Jiu gasped. Yao Yishui had been giving her one or two taels of silver a month as pocket money since she was eight years old. Since she didn't have much to buy, most of it was saved.
Previously, she had worked with Xu Yinzhu delivering things and running errands, earning almost a tael of silver. Ye Jiu only had 40 taels of silver left...
You should know that nowadays, one tael of silver is enough for an ordinary family of three to live on for a month, and they might even have a little left over.
Although this area is mostly occupied by businesses, there are exceptions. Xu Yinzhu's mother was a scholar and a minor official. She looked down on this land and would never have lived here if she hadn't been short of funds.
Unfortunately, this self-righteous scholar had two money-grubbing daughters who neither loved studying and were only interested in making money, single-mindedly pursuing business.
Sometimes when passing by their house, you could hear Xu's mother beating her chest and stamping her feet, "Of all professions, only studying is noble. How could I have given birth to two stinking merchants who reek of money!"
Ye Jiu frowned. This was most of her wealth. Although giving it away wouldn't starve her, and she would be happy if she made a profit, losing money would make her want to hang herself.
"Can you guarantee that you'll make money?" Ye Jiu asked again to confirm.
Upon hearing that there was hope, Xu Yinzhu patted her chest and said, "Sister, you may not believe me about other things, but I'm an expert at making money. Absolutely no problem! I guarantee that even if we don't make a lot of money, we won't lose money."
"Okay, I believe you, but you have to give me a written agreement so I can explain it to my teacher's wife if she asks."
"Of course you can. You have to pay these 30 taels, and you can take 10% of the shop's profits. I'll write this down in writing. If I break my promise, you can go to the government and sue me."
Hearing this, Ye Jiu felt even more relieved. Good, good, this is her first investment, she mustn't let her down.
"Then you wait here, I'll go in and get the money and paper and pen."
Ye Jiu pushed open the door and hurriedly returned to her room. She placed the candied fruit and wine on the table in her room, and took out a small box from under the bed. The box contained all her belongings. She counted out 30 taels of silver, and Ye Jiu felt a pang of pain as she weighed it.
Thirty taels is a lot of money. If she loses it... she can't bear the blow.
She put the 30 taels into a purse, grabbed a set of paper and pen from the table, and hurried out to see Xu Yinzhu.
After the agreement was written and signed, Ye Jiu was finally satisfied.
He handed the purse to Xu Yinzhu, saying, "Go quickly, go quickly, it breaks my heart to see you like this."
"Don't worry, sis, I'll definitely help you make a lot of money."
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